City Lofts London, Your Loft Conversion Company

Why it pays to hire a professional loft conversion company

You have finally taken the first step to making your loft conversion dream a reality by looking for a loft conversion company to carry out the work. By far the biggest fear of home owners like you is to inadvertently hire a cowboy, and to deal with the inevitable consequence of a home improvement nightmare from hell. Regrettably T.V shows like DIY SOS are real, and unscrupulous builders operate in all postcodes.

So how can you prevent yourself from falling victim to a cowboy? To help you, download “The 13 mistakes homeowners make when completing a loft conversion”. The answer is to hire a professional loft conversion company. But how do you know you are dealing with a professional loft conversion company?

How to identify a professional loft conversion company

Unfortunately there isn’t an official loft conversion company register you can search, however to help you pin down finding the right loft conversion company for you, we have compiled this checklist for you:

• A professional loft conversion company does not generalise, they specialise;
• A professional loft conversion company sticks to a pre-agreed work specification, and documents any changes made to this specification;
• A professional loft conversion company sticks to budget, provides a payment schedule;
• A professional loft conversion company has an agreed schedule of work from the outset;
• A professional loft conversion company has a project timeline and sticks to it;
• A professional loft conversion company formalises the project a recognised contract (such as FMB or JCT);
• A professional loft conversion company has a trusted reputation in the industry;
• A professional loft conversion company benefits from bona fide industry accreditation;
• A professional loft conversion company has a plethora of customers willing vouch for his work;
• A professional loft conversion company has a checkable portfolio of work;
• A professional loft conversion company is fully insured;
• A professional loft conversion company Has appropriate trade qualifications;
• A professional loft conversion company has received public recognition of outstanding work.

How to find a loft conversion company for your project

Well, you just have. Hi!

Following your mandatory Google search that led you to us in the first place, the three things you must check prior to hiring a loft conversion company like City Lofts London are:

Check for reviews of the loft conversion company online. Facebook, Google, trade bodies (point 3) are a main places. Though hub sites such as Houzz are becoming increasingly important.

Does the loft conversion company come recommended? Seek social proof from work colleagues, friends, family and neighbour. Warning don’t be complacent; just because your chum had a good experience doesn’t necessarily mean you will. Everyone’s idea of ‘good’ is different, so you will need to carry out your own checks.

Ensure the loft conversion company is trade body certified. A professional loft conversion company will have had to jump through several hoops to become accredited, such as providing years worth of checkable invoices, references going back 5 years, demonstrable hands-on building acumen and even a physical office inspection from Trading Standards. The Which? Trusted Trader scheme and association to the Federation of Master Builders are probably the best. Watch out for schemes like Trust A Trader, Rated People, Bark, Check a Trade and My Builder – these are businesses than earn commissions for trades people they recommend.